Former Hendy Ford Showroom, Mount Ephraim

Principal Land and Planning Ltd held a public consultation event at the United Emmanuel Church on Wednesday 2nd July 2025 about the proposed redevelopment of the former Hendy Ford showroom and garages on Mount Ephraim, Culverden Street, and Rock Villa Road. For those unable to visit or who were unaware of the public consultation, there is also an online consultation website with full details of the proposal which you can visit by clicking the link below:

Introduction - hendymountephraim.co.uk

Civic Society Wins Key Planning Case

The Council Planning Committee has refused by an overwhelming majority the planning application by developer Kier Group to build high-end townhouses on the former AXA Health site opposite the Assembly Hall. Together with representatives of the Town Forum, the Friends of Calverley Grounds, Water in the Wells, and an opposition Council member, the Society lobbied members of the Committee individually. We submitted a letter giving our grounds for rejecting the application, and a note showing the legal basis for planning refusal.

We argued that the site was capable of much more housing in a different form; the preponderance of four-bedroom houses (potentially gated) was inappropriate; and the provision for affordable housing insufficient. There was no masterplan relating to adjacent land and the site's position in the town centre and adjoining Calverley Grounds, and there had been no consultation.

We were strongly influenced by the fact that this situation closely resembled the process which resulted in consent for the development of the nearby cinema site with an overbearing complex of retirement flats on which the public had no input. Council policies require applications for important sites to be handled differently and we now hope to discuss with the Council how such situations can be avoided in future.

Green Belt

A satisfactory outcome that planning permission has been refused for the use of an agricultural building in the green valley between Nevill and Hungershall Parks. The valley is in the Green Belt and protected in the Local Plan. We objected to a proposal to convert it as a house and then to a subsequent proposal for a builder s yard. Either would be a very visible intrusion on the vital green western fringe of Tunbridge Wells and could be the thin end of a wedge.

uPVC (plastic)

People sometimes ask why we are so opposed to uPVC (plastic) windows and doors. These can be cheaper to buy but never properly reproduce the profile of the timber furniture with which older houses were built, being flatter and shallower. Properly maintained timber windows last a lifetime while uPVC cannot be repaired, painted or recycled. The reasons for this are inherent in the material, which is relatively weak and needs strengthening with metal bars. So-called conservation grade uPVC is much more expensive, but still in our view unsustainable and inappropriate in older buildings.

Town Centre Vision

The Council has finished consulting on the Vision for the town centre, the first step towards a town centre plan. The Society has asked for a town centre plan for years and we re pleased to see a Vision which sets out seven key themes starting with its spa town character and unique sense of place , and including an increase in town centre living, connected green spaces, street improvements, and space for pedestrians and cyclists. Ten sites are also identified where development is expected. We have responded with support for these themes but disappointment that we still don t have a clear idea of the changes we should expect.

Calverley Park

The plan by a new owner to drastically enlarge one of the listed Decimus Burton villas in Calverley Park (itself listed) was happily rejected (twice) by the Planning Committee, in spite of the officers recommending approval. The Society along with many others strongly objected, and we pointed out that any `harm` to a listed building is required by law to be justified by a public benefit like securing the future of the building. There was no public benefit from these proposals, and it s hard to understand them (or the officers recommendation). Approval has now been given for a detached double garage with storage over.

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